To the Editor:
You may be seeing people collecting signatures in our area. This initiative would allow Missouri voters to once again CHANGE our Missouri CONSTITUTION. This means it will be extreme. It is important that you know what you are agreeing to if you sign: you agree that we should change the constitution of Missouri to allow abortion for the full nine months of pregnancy. This allows for abortion for the full nine months of pregnancy — including late-term dismemberment abortions on women and girls of any age and it nullifies current requirements for parental consent of minors.
They may use the words reproductive health, they may tell you that they are against abortion and just want voting rights, but make no mistake, this is to allow abortion in our state with wide “rights”. This will supersede any current laws concerning abortion in our state.
The language that will “require the government not to discriminate, in government programs, funding, and other activities, against persons providing or obtaining reproductive health care…” opens the door to taxpayer funding of abortion and even allows non-medical persons to perform abortions so as not to “discriminate” in “funding” or “providing” and prohibits injured women from seeking damages.
The language allowing restrictions after viability “except to protect the life or health of the woman” is deceptive as “health” has been defined by the courts to be virtually anything the mother claims including the inconvenience of the pregnancy.
This initiative is extreme even for those who believe that abortion should be available in some circumstances.
Placing this in our state constitution prevents our elected representatives from providing protections for unborn children and their mothers.
Please consider fully the far-reaching effects of your signature.
Cathy Boero
Bourbon
